diff --git a/CHANGES.md b/CHANGES.md
index b5084db..9dd2fc4 100644
--- a/CHANGES.md
+++ b/CHANGES.md
@@ -1,6 +1,12 @@
 # libCLImate.Ruby - Changes <!-- omit in toc -->
 
 
+## 0.17.4 - 30th August 2026
+
+* made `Climate#make_abort_message_()` non-public;
+* corrected shared project URL metadata in **libclimate-ruby.gemspec**;
+
+
 ## 0.17.3 - 28th August 2026
 
 * library source **Home:** URLs now use `https`;
diff --git a/NEWS.md b/NEWS.md
index 93b759c..af1ea43 100644
--- a/NEWS.md
+++ b/NEWS.md
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 | Date               | News Item                                                                                       |
 | ------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
+| 30th August 2026   | [**libCLImate.Ruby** 0.17.4](https://github.com/synesissoftware/libCLImate.Ruby/releases/tag/0.17.4) |
 | 28th August 2026   | [**libCLImate.Ruby** 0.17.3](https://github.com/synesissoftware/libCLImate.Ruby/releases/tag/0.17.3) |
 | 15th August 2026   | [**libCLImate.Ruby** 0.17.2](https://github.com/synesissoftware/libCLImate.Ruby/releases/tag/0.17.2) |
 | 30th July 2026     | [**libCLImate.Ruby** 0.17.1](https://github.com/synesissoftware/libCLImate.Ruby/releases/tag/0.17.1) |
diff --git a/TODO.md b/TODO.md
index f17c9c1..8de0288 100644
--- a/TODO.md
+++ b/TODO.md
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 
 ## Functional improvements
 
-* [ ] Take `make_abort_message_()` to non-`public` again;
+* [x] ~~~Take `make_abort_message_()` to non-`public` again~~~;
 
 
 ## Performance improvements
diff --git a/lib/libclimate/climate.rb b/lib/libclimate/climate.rb
index 4213530..093074d 100644
--- a/lib/libclimate/climate.rb
+++ b/lib/libclimate/climate.rb
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 # Purpose:  Definition of the ::LibCLImate::Climate class
 #
 # Created:  13th July 2015
-# Updated:  19th August 2026
+# Updated:  28th August 2026
 #
 # Home:     https://github.com/synesissoftware/libCLImate.Ruby
 #
@@ -264,7 +264,7 @@ def verify(**options)
           end
         else
 
-          message = climate.make_abort_message_("unrecognised flag '#{flag}'")
+          message = climate.__send__(:make_abort_message_, "unrecognised flag '#{flag}'")
 
           if false
 
@@ -312,7 +312,7 @@ def verify(**options)
           end
         else
 
-          message = climate.make_abort_message_("unrecognised option '#{option}'")
+          message = climate.__send__(:make_abort_message_, "unrecognised option '#{option}'")
 
           if false
 
@@ -378,7 +378,6 @@ module Climate_Constants_
     GIVEN_SPECS_ = "_Given_Specs_01B59422_8407_4c89_9432_8160C52BD5AD"
   end # module Climate_Constants_
 
-  public
   def make_abort_message_(msg)
 
     if 0 != (usage_help_suffix || 0).size
diff --git a/lib/libclimate/version.rb b/lib/libclimate/version.rb
index 7c99050..cac29e0 100644
--- a/lib/libclimate/version.rb
+++ b/lib/libclimate/version.rb
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 # Purpose:  Version for libclimate.Ruby library
 #
 # Created:  13th July 2015
-# Updated:  28th August 2026
+# Updated:  30th August 2026
 #
 # Home:     https://github.com/synesissoftware/libCLImate.Ruby
 #
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@
 module LibCLImate
 
   # Current version of the libCLImate.Ruby library
-  VERSION           = '0.17.3'
+  VERSION           = '0.17.4'
 
   private
   VERSION_PARTS_    = VERSION.split(/[.]/).collect { |n| n.to_i } # :nodoc:
diff --git a/libclimate-ruby.gemspec b/libclimate-ruby.gemspec
index aace07c..06f272d 100644
--- a/libclimate-ruby.gemspec
+++ b/libclimate-ruby.gemspec
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 # Purpose:  Gemspec for libCLImate.Ruby library
 #
 # Created:  1st March 2019
-# Updated:  19th August 2026
+# Updated:  28th August 2026
 #
 # ######################################################################## #
 
@@ -14,6 +14,9 @@ $:.unshift File.join(File.dirname(__FILE__), 'lib')
 require 'libclimate/version'
 
 
+PROJECT_URL = 'https://github.com/synesissoftware/libCLImate.Ruby'
+
+
 Gem::Specification.new do |spec|
 
   spec.name         = 'libclimate-ruby'
@@ -36,7 +39,7 @@ END_DESC
   spec.email        = [
     'matthew@synesis.com.au',
   ]
-  spec.homepage     = 'https://github.com/synesissoftware/libCLImate.Ruby'
+  spec.homepage     = PROJECT_URL
   spec.license      = 'BSD-3-Clause'
 
   spec.required_ruby_version = [ '>= 2.0' ]
@@ -45,10 +48,10 @@ END_DESC
   spec.add_runtime_dependency "xqsr3", [ '>= 0.39.5', '< 1.0' ]
 
   spec.metadata = {
-    'bug_tracker_uri' => 'https://github.com/synesissoftware/libCLImate.Ruby/issues',
-    'changelog_uri' => 'https://github.com/synesissoftware/libCLImate.Ruby/blob/master/CHANGES.md',
-    'homepage_uri' => 'https://github.com/synesissoftware/libCLImate.Ruby',
-    'source_code_uri' => 'https://github.com/synesissoftware/libCLImate.Ruby',
+    'bug_tracker_uri' => "#{PROJECT_URL}/issues",
+    'changelog_uri' => "#{PROJECT_URL}/blob/master/CHANGES.md",
+    'homepage_uri' => PROJECT_URL,
+    'source_code_uri' => PROJECT_URL,
   }
 
   spec.files = Dir[